We moved into this house with the understanding that we would only rent this home for a short while and then we would buy something a lot closer to our "dream house". So..... I didn't worry too much about the wood paneling in our family room.
(Please excuse the pics. It never occurred to me to take before shots. This is all I could find on my phone--clearly taken by the kids)
As time passed, I softened to the idea of not buying a dream home--ever. Actually, if you ask me now I'll tell you that buying your dream home is not a thing. Who told all of America that we are entitled to live in our dream house? It's silly. This house is just fine!
So we bought the house we were already renting and decided to make this house the best house for us.
We started by painting white over the wood paneling.
Next, I painted the book shelves white, Matt installed pergo flooring instead of the old carpet, and we painted the walls and white washed the brick fireplace.
We really want to install a built-in triple desk/shelving unit, but we'll wait for a while. Matt built a nice desk that works great in the meantime.
A few months ago, we decided to create a family motto for family home evening. I started by showing the kids a few examples from blogs I had seen (http://www.71toes.com/2010/03/family-mottos.html)
We really let the kids take charge of the writing, with a little guidance from us. I love what they came up with! I ordered this cool sign custom made from etsy. Love it!
Joel turned 11 two days later. We made a fun invention for his birthday cake.
We have a lot of February birthdays around here. We have three kids' birthdays in a seven day period! Henry celebrated his first birthday. He's everyone's favorite around here. What a cute little man!
1yellow cake mix with regular eggs, oil, etc. Add 1/2 cup of peanut butter and bake at 325 until done.
Frosting: 1 package of whipped cream, 1 package of marshmallow cream, and 1/2 cup of peanut butter. Beat together in a mixer. Refrigerate after putting the cake together.
We topped it off with chopped Reese's cups and mini marshmallows.
Try it!
Joel is a good boy and my very best worker. He decided a few months ago that he wanted to lose weight. He started swimming daily, doing gymnastics and running on the treadmill 2.5 miles a day. He looks great! When he sets his mind to it, Joel never gives up!
Norah turned 6 today. She's such a sweetheart and We love her so much! She wants so badly to be one of the big kids. She is a big helper with Hazie and Henry. She is reading and writing so well! We are so proud of her!
Hank likes cake.
Joel is a good boy and my very best worker. He decided a few months ago that he wanted to lose weight. He started swimming daily, doing gymnastics and running on the treadmill 2.5 miles a day. He looks great! When he sets his mind to it, Joel never gives up!
Norah turned 6 today. She's such a sweetheart and We love her so much! She wants so badly to be one of the big kids. She is a big helper with Hazie and Henry. She is reading and writing so well! We are so proud of her!
1 comment:
I love that blue paint color! And the whitewashed fireplace gives it a whole new look. The floor is amazing, too. We are doing some work on our house, too, so it was fun to see some of your ideas. Your kids are so cute!
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